Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
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AfterFast, Reliable Driveway & Pavers Across Shady Hollow
Driveway and paver work in Shady Hollow runs into something most contractors never plan for: the trees. A new paver driveway in 78739 typically costs $7,000-$18,000, and a concrete driveway runs $4,500-$12,000, but the real variable is what happens before we break ground. Heritage Tree permits, watershed impervious cover caps, and slab-heaving clay all shape the bid and the schedule. We’ve been working these lots long enough to quote it honestly the first time. Call Tom and his sons at (877) 610-1318 and you’ll get a real person on the line, a free estimate, and a written scope before anything moves.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Shady Hollow’s Preferred Driveway & Pavers Company
We’re the owner-operated Driveway & Pavers team where Tom Barrett and his sons are on-site most days. That matters on a Shady Hollow job, because the lot constraints here don’t show up on a satellite photo. You need someone who’s already pulled Heritage Tree permits and dealt with City of Austin Urban Forestry reviews. Ask anyone on your street, or look up the license number yourself. Tom publishes his name, his address, and his license number. If something’s off, he lives twenty minutes away, and he wants to know about it.
Shady Hollow homeowners keep calling us back because we hand over a written change order before any scope change touches the job. No surprise invoices at the end. And every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise, written on the contract, not buried in fine print. If it’s not done right, one call brings Tom back. We also answer the phone 24/7 with a live person, not a voicemail box or an out-of-state call center.
Our Driveway & Pavers Services in Shady Hollow
Paver Driveways
Paver driveways are the most common request we get in Shady Hollow, and for good reason. Pavers flex with the expansive Blackland Prairie clay under 78739, so they don’t crack the way a monolithic slab does when the ground swells after a wet spring and shrinks during a summer drought. We build with Belgard and Techo-Bloc pavers, materials you can look up, not mystery brands off a van. A Shady Hollow paver driveway runs $7,000-$18,000, and the range depends heavily on how much of your lot sits inside a Heritage Tree critical root zone.
Concrete Driveways & Concrete Work
Concrete driveways in Shady Hollow need better subgrade prep than what builders did back in the 1980s and 90s. Most original slabs here went in on whatever the developer scraped flat, with little thought for the shrink-swell clay underneath. When you replace a driveway in this neighborhood, you’re often correcting thirty years of poor base work. That’s why a new concrete driveway in Shady Hollow runs $4,500-$12,000, with stamped concrete at the higher end of that range. If your goal is curb appeal that holds up to the clay, we’ll spec the base accordingly.
Asphalt Driveways & Resurfacing
Asphalt is the budget-conscious option for longer rural-style driveways in the wider Shady Hollow area, though most 78739 front yards are too short and too tree-constrained for heavy paving equipment. Asphalt paving lands between $3,500 and $9,000. Resurfacing over an existing asphalt driveway costs less, but if tree roots have buckled the base, a skim coat won’t hold. We’ll tell you straight whether resurfacing is worth your money or whether you’re better off putting that budget toward pavers.
Driveway Repair & Replacement
Shady Hollow driveways fail in predictable ways: slab cracks from clay movement, settlement near downspouts and mature tree roots, and surface spalling from decades of central Texas heat. A full driveway replacement in Shady Hollow runs $5,000-$14,000 depending on size, access, and tree constraints. Smaller crack repairs and joint sealing sit well under that. If you’re not sure whether you need a patch job or a full teardown, call us. A free second opinion on any written estimate means you’re not guessing.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Shady Hollow
We install hardscape materials from Belgard and Techo-Bloc, and we keep a working relationship with local suppliers so Shady Hollow customers aren’t waiting on an out-of-state truck. The same goes for our window and door work; we carry premium brands like Simonton and Ply Gem when a driveway project turns into a broader exterior refresh. You’ll always know what’s going on your property before it arrives, and every material is spelled out in your written scope, down to the allowance.
Common Driveway & Pavers Problems We See in Shady Hollow Homes
- Cracking and heaving from Blackland Prairie clay. The 78739 area sits on the Balcones Escarpment transition zone, where expansive clay abuts fractured limestone. Seasonal drought-to-rain cycles make the ground move, and driveways poured thirty years ago move with it.
- Impervious cover cap violations. Shady Hollow falls under Austin’s Slaughter and Williamson Creek watershed protection ordinances, so adding a wide paver driveway or a bigger patio can push you over the hard-surface limit. We check your lot’s cover ratio before we draw the plan, not after the inspector flags it.
- Tree root damage during excavation. Cutting a single 2-inch root on a protected heritage oak triggers a stop-work order and arborist fees. That’s not a hypothetical here. It happens, and it changes the schedule and the price.
- Surface spalling and pitting from heat and age. Most Shady Hollow homes were built between 1983 and 1998, so original concrete is hitting its 30-40 year mark. UV exposure and freeze-thaw cycles take a toll, even in central Texas.
Pricing for Driveway & Pavers in Shady Hollow, TX
Here’s what we quote for typical Shady Hollow jobs. These are honest ranges, not teaser numbers:
| Service | Typical Range in Shady Hollow |
|---|---|
| Paver Driveway Installation | $7,000-$18,000 |
| Concrete Driveway Installation | $4,500-$12,000 |
| Driveway Replacement | $5,000-$14,000 |
| Driveway Sealing | $250-$700 |
What moves the number on a Shady Hollow job? Tree protection fencing and hand work inside a critical root zone, stormwater mitigation if you’re bumping against the impervious cover cap, and how much demo is required to reach stable subgrade. We write every allowance and every price change down before work happens. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate with a written line-item quote.
Working on a Tight Shady Hollow Lot: What You Should Know
Every driveway or paver project on a Shady Hollow lot has to contend with Austin’s Heritage Tree ordinance. Any live oak or cedar elm with a trunk diameter of 19 inches or more within the work zone requires an arborist-approved critical root zone plan and a city permit before we can even stage materials. Builders a few miles south in Buda or Kyle never face that. It changes how we park, where we stage pallets, which equipment we can run, and how many feet of tree fencing we need. On a paver driveway replacement off Brodie Lane, our crew had to route the skid steer and pallet staging around a 24-inch-diameter live oak whose drip line covered the entire front setback. The arborist report limited us to a 4-foot-wide access path, so we hand-carried pavers and ran the plate compactor in sections, getting inspection sign-off on root protection before any excavation. The change order for tree fencing and hand work added three days but kept the oak’s root zone intact and the HOA satisfied.
Access affects the quote. If we can’t get a skid steer into the back or the side yard because of a constrained lot or a protected tree, that means hand work. Hand work means more hours. We’ll show you that math before you sign, not after.
We Also Serve Cities Near Shady Hollow
We work throughout Shady Hollow and into the surrounding communities. Whether you’re a few minutes across Slaughter Lane or out toward Buda, Austin, Kyle, or Bee Cave, the same crew, the same written pricing, and the same 90-Day Done Right Promise apply. Call us and we’ll tell you if we can get to your street this week.
Serving Shady Hollow, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Shady Hollow area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Driveway & Pavers in Shady Hollow
If there’s a live oak or cedar elm with a 19-inch or larger trunk diameter within the work zone, you’ll need an ISA-certified arborist report and a City of Austin Urban Forestry permit before excavation. That typically adds $800-$2,500 in arborist and permit costs, plus tree protection fencing and potentially hand work inside the critical root zone. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll walk your specific lot and tell you what applies.
Shady Hollow sits under Austin’s Slaughter and Williamson Creek watershed protection ordinances, which cap total hard surface as a percentage of your lot. If your new paver driveway or patio pushes you over the cap, you’ll need stormwater mitigation like a rain garden or permeable pavement. We check your cover ratio during the estimate, before the city does.
The soil. Shady Hollow sits on the Balcones Escarpment transition zone, where expansive Blackland Prairie clay abuts fractured limestone. Buda has a different, less expansive soil profile. When Shady Hollow’s clay swells after a wet winter and shrinks in a drought, monolithic slabs flex and crack. Proper subgrade prep with stabilized base and relief joints is the fix.
Pavers. Tree roots move, and pavers move with them. When a root lifts a section, we pull the pavers, trim the root (if allowed under the ordinance), reset the base, and relay the same pavers. A stamped concrete slab that gets lifted by a root cracks and typically needs full replacement. Given how many mature oaks are in 78739, pavers are usually the smarter long-term play.
Shady Hollow follows City of Austin noise and work-hour rules. Construction noise is generally allowed from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, with tighter weekend limits. If you’re in an HOA, additional restrictions may apply. We’ll coordinate with your HOA and your neighbors before demo starts, and we keep the site clean at the end of every day.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Shady Hollow and central Texas since 1998.